Hard disk drives are the primary computer storage device in most computing systems. Maintaining a hard disk drive's proper working environment is critical for preventing a hard disk drive from failing. For example, excessive vibration during hard disk drive operation can cause the read/write head to contact the magnetic disk, scratching the disk surface and damaging the hard disk drive. In addition, sudden changes in temperature and humidity may cause condensation inside the hard disk drive. The condensation may cause the read/write head to adhere to the surface of the disk and prevent the disk from rotating.
Even under optimal conditions, hard disk drives may eventually fail. It is usually simply a question of when the hard disk drive will fail and what impact the failure will have on the computing environment in which the hard disk drive is operating. To minimize loss of data in case of hard disk drive failure, the data on a hard disk drive may be copied or “backed up” to other computer storage media. Generally, businesses and large computer networks have established procedures for copying data from their hard disk drives to a separate storage medium on a periodic basis. Consequently, when a hard disk drive is working correctly and data is copied periodically, a computer or network may spend valuable time copying data from a hard disk drive unnecessarily. Moreover, many individuals and small networks do not make copies of the data on their hard disk drives on a regular basis, if at all. If the hard disk drive data has not been copied for a long period of time prior to a hard disk drive failure, the computer or network may lose valuable data. Restoring or recreating lost data may be expensive, time-consuming and, depending upon the nature of the data, potentially devastating to an individual or business.
As hard disk drives have increased in recording density and data output rate, hard disk drive manufacturers have also increased the sophistication of the hard disk drive to increase performance and mean time between failures. Hard disk drives may include environmental sensors such as temperature, vibration, G-force sensors and the like. Hard disk drives may also detect and track hard disk drive performance including the error rate and the frequency with which the hard disk drive is powered on and off. An error rate, as used herein, is the ratio of the number of occurrences of erroneous data to the total number of units of data. A high error rate for a hard disk drive may indicate a problem with the read/write heads or damage to the magnetic medium. An increase in the error rate may indicate imminent hard disk drive failure.